The use of optical storage solutions is nowadays widespread for content distribution, for example in storage systems based on the DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) standards. Optical storage has a big advantage over hard-disk and solid-state storage in that the information carriers are easy and cheap to replicate.
However, due to the large amount of moving elements in the drives, known applications using optical storage solutions are not robust to shocks when performing read/write operations, considering the required stability of said moving elements during such operations. As a consequence, optical storage solutions cannot easily and efficiently be used in applications which are subject to shocks, such as in portable devices.
New optical storage solutions have thus been developed. These solutions combine the advantages of optical storage in that a cheap and removable information carrier is used, and the advantages of solid-state storage in that the information carrier is still and that its reading requires a limited number of moving elements.